Friday

With his processor Dairymens Inc. in Cleveland saying it had no capacity to take any more because of changes in dairy consumption and purchasing limits in place at retail outlets because of the coronavirus, he was forced to get rid of it. The dumping cost him an estimated $1,200.

“It was a rush of emotions and thoughts,” said Spreng who runs Willow Brook Dairy and milks 650 cows at three locations in Wayne County. “My first question was ‘Are we going to be compensated and where will that compensation be coming from?’”

Spreng, who has a contract with Dairymens for the milk and couldn’t ship to another processor, isn’t alone.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended the food supply chain, with many reliable outlets for milk closed, such as schools, or limited to carryout, like restaurants and bars. Many retailers also had put limits on milk purchases, further squeezing the industry.

“These factors ... have contributed to the excess milk supply dairy farmers are experiencing,” said Jenny Hubble, a spokeswoman for American Dairy Association Mideast, which represents dairy farmers in Ohio and West Virginia.

It’s a major issue for Ohio, where there are about 1,750 dairy farms. The Buckeye State ranks 11th in the country for milk production.

Questions about dumping milk have been so widespread that the Ohio Department of Agriculture this month issued guidance on how to properly dispose of raw milk, noting that it’s considered a pollutant and isn’t allowed to be dumped in surface water or groundwater.

“In the event programs are created to help farmers with lost revenue, we encourage dairy producers to keep a record, including the date, volume, reason and location of disposal,” the state agency posted on its website.

“This is happening nationwide,” Hubble said. Dairy farmers across the United States, including those in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Arizona have reported having to dump milk.

`Unique business’

Curt Ramsier, who owns a dairy farm outside Rittman and hasn’t been asked to dump, sells his milk to the Dairy Farmers of America co-op. The co-op decides which plants need the milk most, so Ramsier’s product can go anywhere the co-op supplies.

“I hope the other shoe doesn’t drop, but you never know,” he said. “It’s a unique business. You can’t just send everybody home and quit milking cows and say there’s too much milk right now, unless you want to get out altogether. And then it’s not an easy situation, when there is more room for milk, to start up again.”

Borden Dairy, which owns Dairymens, is working with its farmers in Ohio to have their product shipped to plants in Alabama, Mississippi and Kentucky, said Adrienne Chance, a spokeswoman with Borden.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that all milk we receive reaches consumers — even if that involves transporting the milk to another market and/or donating the milk to a local food bank or nonprofit organization,” said said. “However, there are some recent situations where we have been unable to find a market for the milk in a period of time that will ensure its freshness.”

The company is also working with administrators of the Federal Milk Marketing Orders, which establish certain provisions under which processors purchase fresh milk from dairy farmers supplying an area. The administrators, in turn, are working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to see what aid can be provided to farmers who are still having to dump milk.

Chance said Borden would know more once the two groups finalized the process for April milk payments in the next few weeks.

Hard to swallow

The financial impact for Spreng and his fellow dairy farmers who had to dump won’t be felt immediately. The milk sold last month won’t be paid for until this month, but that money is already earmarked for items necessary to keep their farms running, like feed for the cattle.

“Our operating and overhead expenses are still there,” Spreng said. “If we can’t sell our product, then the other people aren’t getting paid.”

He highlighted one of the problems for the dairy industry. Processors produce specialized packaging for customers in food service. For example, a manufacturer can’t easily flip from making 10-pound bags of mozzarella cheese for pizzerias to offering 8-ounce packages for household use because of the equipment involved, Spreng said.

On the retail front, the American Dairy Association Mideast reached out to the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the Ohio Farm Bureau, as well as dairy farmers and social media followers, to help spread the word that there is a steady supply of milk to meet grocery stores’ increased needs.

The dairy association also enlisted the help of the Ohio Grocers Association to issue a special alert to retailers to lift their milk purchasing limits. As of Monday, Kroger, Walmart, Sparkle and Discount Drug Mart stores have confirmed that they’re removing their limits on milk purchases. Conversations are still under way with other retailers including Giant Eagle, Meijer and Aldi.

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